City Lights Booksonixsuitesupport@onixsuite.com20180319T1450ZengCOM.ONIXSUITE.97808728642520301City Lights Books02087286425103978087286425215978087286425200BC017in025in0816oz0117.78cm0212.70cm08454gr100102City Lights Noir0101Joe's WordAn Echo Park Novel (City Lights Noir)1A0101Onixsuite Contributor ID4840Elizabeth StrommeStromme, ElizabethElizabethStromme<b>Elizabeth Stromme</b> has published two noir novels with Editions Gallimard in France. Her work had appeared in <i>Le Mond</i>e and the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>, among other journals and magazines.<br>01eng002240324Internet CL HierarchyCalifornia Writers24Internet CL HierarchyFiction0300<p>In Echo Park, a neighborhood at the wrong end of Sunset Boulevard, Joe, a cool cynic, lives marginally. Ironically, he finds himself becoming more involved than he'd planned in the lives of his clients, linked to their dreams and to their despair, and in some cases to their dirty secrets. His financial reliance on a sleazy character who needs pornographic letters to send mail-order brides soon complicates his relationship with his girlfriend, the beautiful Clio. This noir-style novel vividly brings to life an embattled community of mostly have-nots who attempt to survive city corruption, police harassment, and the daily grind with humor and sheer grit.</p>
<p>"Good things always seem to come in the small, neat editions packaged in the City Lights Noir series. <em>Joe's Word</em> gets my nod for the wry wit of its author, Elizabeth Stromme, and for the amused affection she has for an unglamorous neighborhood at the losing end of Sunset Boulevard."—<em>The New York Times</em></p>
<p>"It's hard to understand why this delightful novel made its debut in France in 1996 and has only just graced its hometown, but it may be that the French love our L.A. noir almost as much—the French publishers even more—than we do. The Joe of the title is a writer for hire, the modern equivalent of a medieval scribe."—<em>Los Angeles Times</em></p>
<p>"Stromme packages her moral message in a pitch-perfect rendition of a postwar crime novel, complete with an existentially slow buildup to the main action and a large helping of sexual perversion. This is the novel Jim Thompson would write if he were still kicking."—<em>Booklist</em></p>
<p>"Intriguing, offbeat noir fiction"—Lev Raphael, <em>Detroit Free Press</em></p>0200In Echo Park, a neighborhood at the wrong end of Sunset Boulevard, Joe, a cool cynic, lives marginally. Ironically, he finds himself becoming more involved than he'd planned in the lives of his clients, linked to their dreams and to their despair...0600"Good things always seem to come in the small, neat editions packaged in the City Lights Noir series. Joe's Word gets my nod for the wry wit of its author, Elizabeth Stromme, and for the amused affection she has for an unglamorous neighborhood at the losing end of Sunset Boulevard."The New York Times0600"It's hard to understand why this delightful novel made its debut in France in 1996 and has only just graced its hometown, but it may be that the French love our L.A. noir almost as much — the French publishers even more — than we do. The Joe of the title is a writer for hire, the modern equivalent of a medieval scribe.Los Angeles Times0600"Stromme packages her moral message in a pitch-perfect rendition of a postwar crime novel, complete with an existentially slow buildup to the main action and a large helping of sexual perversion. This is the novel Jim Thompson would write if he were still kicking."Booklist0600"Intriguing, offbeat noir fiction"Lev Raphael, Detroit Free Press0600"As hilarious as The Big Lebowski by the Coen brothers...a small masterpiece of dry tenderness."Bruno Juffin, Les Inrockuptibles0600"Extremely vivid...A terrific gift for those who read it."Gerard Lefort, Radio France Inter040003064840Onixsuite Contributor ID0201D501http://www.citylights.com/resources/persons/4840.gifCity Lights Publishers01City Lights Publishers04012003100111200310010201GCOI87286100794400WORLD000307631-760XConsortium Book Sales & Distribution612/746-2600612/746-2606info@cbsd.com33www.cbsd.comhttp://www.cbsd.com200111.95USD